The impact of weather forecast information on people and property can be substantial. For example, many different types of weather conditions may cause power outages and property damage ranging from sporadic to widespread. Storm events may leave hundreds of thousands of customers without power and the damage to property reaching the millions of dollars.
It is common in broadcast and cable weather presentations to indicate the forecasted track of significant weather events or phenomena. For example, a sector (or other geometric area) typically indicates where a thunderstorm is likely to go in the ensuing 10 to 30 minutes and often depicts the future movement of that storm. Similarly, a hurricane track often depicts the forecasted movement of a hurricane over the coming 2 or 3 days. In each such case, however, the potential impact to safety and property is not presented. This information would be useful to the general public as it conveys the significance of a weather event. This information is also useful to insurance companies, emergency response teams, etc., as it may be used to prioritize response activities.
Thus, there is a need for improvements in weather forecasting that will provide additional information regarding the impact of a storm or other weather event. The present invention provides for such a system.